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Pharmaceutical Technology's annual survey on equipment and machinery reveals the spending levels and types of spending made in 2009 and planned for 2010.
Apr 2, 2010 By:
Patricia Van Arnum Pharmaceutical Technology
Volume 34,
Issue 4,
pp. 48-56
So in what areas did companies spend the most in 2009? Thirty-one percent of respondents spent the most on solid-dosage manufacturing.
Parenteral manufacturing or sterile manufacturing/aseptic processing ranked as the second highest area with 18.5% spending
the most in this area, and 15.8% spent the most on biologic-based API manufacturing (see Figure 1).
Figure 2:
A similar pattern exists for planned spending in 2010. Respondents plan to spend the most in solid-dosage manufacturing (28%
of respondents). Almost 20% of respondents (19.1%) plan to spend the most in parenteral manufacturing or aseptic processing/sterile
manufacturing, and 16.6% will spend the most in biologic-based API manufacturing (see Figure 2).
Impact factors
Figure 3:
The survey also examined the factors that influenced purchasing decisions. As might be expected, compliance with good manufacturing
practices (GMPs) was a leading reason behind spending decisions. The survey showed that 56.1% of respondents said compliance
with GMPs was a "high-impact" factor in their purchasing decisions, and 26.5% said it had "medium impact" (see Figure 3).
Macroeconomic conditions also had a large effect. The survey showed that 41.4% of respondents said overall economic conditions
had a "high impact" on their purchasing decisions (See Figure 3). Other high-impact factors were expansion of manufacturing
facilities (35.6% of respondents cited as a high-impact factor), replacement of existing equipment (22.3%), and upgrades or
addition of technology (24.2%). Interestedly, initiatives such as QbD and PAT seemed to have little impact on purchasing decisions.
Two-thirds of respondents said that PAT had "little or no impact" on their purchasing decisions, and 51.9% said QbD had "little
or no impact" on their spending decision in 2009.
Figure 4:
A similar pattern emerges for 2010. As in 2009, GMP compliance was the leading reason for purchasing machinery and equipment
in 2010, with 75.5% of respondents citing GMP compliance as a "high- or medium- impact" factor (see Figure 4). As overall
economic conditions improve somewhat in 2010, the economy, although still a crucial factor, is not negatively affecting purchasing
decisions as much in 2010 as it did in 2009. The survey showed that 68.7% of respondents said that overall economic conditions
are a "high- or medium- impact factor" on their spending plans for 2010 compared with 77.5% that ranked the economy as a "high-
or medium-impact" factor in 2009 (see Figure 4). As in 2009, the influence of PAT and QbD is having a minimal effect on 2010
purchasing decisions. (see Figure 4).
